bowman



W. W. BOWIVIAN.

` TOWEL HOLDER.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. I5. 1917.

Patented Aug. 9, 192i.

4 SHEETS-SHEET I.

W. W. BOWIVIAN.

TOWEL HOLDER.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 15. 1917.

1,886,761. Patented Aug. 9, IQZI.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2. Z

W. W. BOWIVIAN.

TOWEL HOLDER.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. l5, 1917.

Patented Aug. 9, 192L W. W. BOWIVIAN.

TOWEL HOLDER.

APPLICATION FILED FEB.15.1917.

Patented Aug. 9, 1921i.

LSSL

TTOB/VEY 4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

entre 'met @risica wenn w. Bean, or New vont. v.

Towne-nonnen. A

Specication of Letters Patent.

Patenten aeg. aieei.

Application led February 15, 1917. Serial No. 148,714.

v automatically returned into the holder by the act of withdrawing theiunused sections.

The object of the invention is to provide improved and more eiiicient mechanism for producing the above results.

A more detailed object is to provide improved means whereby a ribbon like tape of towel material may be readily and quickly threaded through the device.

A further object is to provide improved and more eicient means whereby the passage of the towel material through the device will more effectively and correctly operate the automatic take-up.

A further object is to provide an improved form of support for one of the friction rollers employed.

A further object is to provide means whereby the operation of the automatic takeup is rendered adjustable.V n

A further object is to provide a casing in which the supply of unused toweling is contained within a compartment separate and distinct from the compartment containing the used portions of the toweling.

A further object is to provide improved means for mounting the roller upon which the used portions of the toweling is' wound.

A further object is to provide van improved form of casing in which the various parts of the mechanism are contained and to provide means whereby the parts of the casing may be readily assembled. A further object is to provide an improved type of bearing'- adapted for use in supporting device. v

@ther objects and aims of the invention, more or less specific than those referred to above,r will be in part obvious and in part certain of the rollers, etc., in the pointed out in the course olf the following principles, constituting the invention; anddescriptiogi of the elements, combinations, arrangements vof parts and application of scope of protection contemplated will be indicated in the appended claims.

ln the accompanying drawings, which are .i A

to be taken as a part of this specification, and in which I havel shown merely a preferred form of embodiment of the invention view througha towel holder constructed in accordance with this invention, said view illustrating by dottedv lines the manner of,

Figure 1 is a vertical transverse sectional illustrating the manner of assembling the parts of the casing.

Fig. 5- is an enlarged detail view of a portion of one of the friction rollers employed, ak

portion of the view being shown in section upon the plane ofline V of Fig. 6.

Fig. 6 is atransverse sectional View, taken upon the plane of line V1 of Fig. 5.

Fig. 7 is a side elevational view, partly in section, illustrating the construction of one of the resilient members of the supporting frame for one of the friction rollers.

Fig. 8 is an edge view of the structure shown in Fig. 7.

Fig. 9 is 4an elevational view of one ofthe improved bearings employed, and

Fig. 10is a transverse sectional view taken p upon the plane of line X- of Fig. 9.

Fig. 11 is a slightly enlarged fragmentary detail view of the yguiding and control device employed. y

Referring to the drawings for describing in detail the structure which is illustrated therein, the reference character L illustrates the outer member of the casing. The reference character G. indicates the inner member of the casing.

Both the inner and outer members of the casing may be made of any desired material, or ofany size, etc., as may be found appropriate in use. As illustrated, however, they are both formed of sheet metal.

The outer member L is of rectan ar i box-like form having a back wall 1, an top, bottom and side walls 2. The front wall as v3, is hinged-to the forward edge of one of the side walls and constitutes aA door which may be swung into and out of position i-closing the' otherwise' open front side o f the casing.

into which the inner member 'rigidly within the outer,

f At the' top and bottom front4 edges of the art L are formed 'openings or 9 the casing may/be slid when assembling parts, as clearly indicated in Fig. 4.

The inner member GLi's made up essentlally of twovertical plates, 5j and 6, con- 'nected 'together by a' horiaontalv plate'j7.. The plates 5 and 6 directly, support'all of.

the rolls and other movingv vparts ofthe mechanism and after'said parts 'aneadjusted into positionf-upon said plates, the plates with said parts, are moved into the main casing through the guideways 4. The rear edges ofthe lates 5, '6 and 7 abut/against the inner sur aceof the rear wall l-of the main casing, and tangs 8, whichv are carriedl portions t snugly against the adjacent por` tions of the main casing and thereby'serve to reinforce the main casing.' e

T he horizontal plate 7 ofthe inner casing `positively divides the device into an upper lcompartment and a lower compartment.

The upper compartment is employed to contain the supply of unused toweling while the lower compartment is employedtocon.-

tain the used or soiled portions of the towel? g. The.. plate or partition 7 prevents an)7 possible contact of the unused portions of .the toweling with the soiled portions.

thence upwardly as at 16 andover y after serves to stiffen up 7 and to retain said walls rigidly in their In assembling, the various rollers are introduced into the appropriate bearing apertures'provided upon the walls 5 and 6 and thepartition wall 7 is-then fastened in place so as to retainthe-walls 5 and 6 against spreading. After this has Abeen done the walls 5, 6 and 7, with the rollers carried thereby, are slid into the guideways 4 and fastened inplace. The main casing therethe walls 5, 6 and proper and effective position.

The path of travel the device is as follows:

From the supply roller H downwardly around the rod 10, backwardly and around the friction roller 11, passing between said roller 11 and a coperating friction roller 12, thence forwardly through an opening 13 in the door 3 and downwardly over a roller 14 providing the portion 15 ready foruse, a roller 17 returning into the casing through the lower part of the opening 13, beneath the `to the roller -rou guideways 4 roller 20,

and 6, as at 27j,

of the toweling through' easing wardly tothe take-up roller 19, being fed he passage. of the tap for ribbon of towelin about Athe roller l1 said rol erand the roller 12, causes the roller 12 to rotate andftoimpartrotatiom throu h a train of' 122 -and'23,directzto t e hefge l'is fixed to the Vend. of the s 'indle24`o positive y rotatably mounted. upon the wall 6.-" The -gear4 23 "iswxed -to the outer end-'of the spindle 25 ,ofthe 'roll i to positively ro'- tate said roller.

The spindles-'2A an and 2Ov project throng gears '21', 22 and23'a1'efdisposed and obscured from 4View -withinlthe space Aor "compartment A- fQi-me'd vbetween thegwall 6 and vthe 'side wall ofthe main casing of the-'toweling and causes the .toweling to Ibefed on to the roller 19 as the roller rotates.

In order to accommodate the/change in diameter of the roll of toweling `upon the roller 19, said roller is mounted upon af support pressed brackets 26 by means ofwhich sai roller is at all times resiliently pressed-tm Ward the roller 29:

- The brackets 26 may be in any desired form, but preferably each comprisesa'n elongated lever-like member, as best seenln Fig. 1, said members being ivotally connected to the inner surface o the plates 5 upwardly by lmeans of the tension springs 28. The spindles, as 29, ofthe roller 19 are received in' seats 30. formed upon the upper 5i-ofthe rollers -12 the-wall 6,v and the -which comprises a1 lpair of springv 19 by means of a coperating A and between 7 5' roller 12 Miditurns"- wi h said rollen The. gear '22 is` and being, resiliently -urged I surface of the members 26 preferably by means of a separate strip of metal 31 fixed to the member 26' and bent to provide said seat. The rear end of the members 3 1 may 'b'e bent as at 3 2 so as to form attaching means for the springs 28.

The forward end of the members '26 project to points near the forward edge to the casing and those portions of said .members 'between their forward ends and the seats 30 constitute convenient 'and appropriate 'guide ways backwardly along which the spindles 29 of the roller 19 may be slid,to ward operative position.;

At least one endv of the roller 19 is fitted with a ratchet wheel 33, and a pawl 34 .is carried by the adjacent member 26 for 'en the teeth of the ratchet to positively retain the roller 19 against rotating in an the seats 30 for placing-the roller iniso I .unwindingt` direction. A light spring 35 is members N are pivotally connected at their' spring bein arranged for ur 'ng 'the'pawl' agalnst vthe teeth" of the rato et, and a stop 36 is provided for-engaging between the pawl and a.

portion of the member 26 to hold the pawl m an appropriate position for receivlng the ratchet wheel when the roller k19 is belng inserted.

The "bearings for all o f the gears v21, 22 and 23 are immovable relatively vto eac other and thusv said gears are maintained in proper coperati-ve relation at all times.

The friction between the rollers 11 and 12 is preferably afforded by mounting the roller 11 s o that it presses resiliently Jagainst the roller 12.

The support for the roller 11 therefore comprises a swinging frame made up of the cross rod 10 and a pair of members N, constructed as shown in Figs. Z and 8. The

upper ends to the walls-5 and 6,l as at 36,

and the roller 11 is mountedin the bear-` ings 37 formed atthe lower ends of said members to receive the spindles 38 of said rollers.

The rod 10 .is fixed by its opposite ends to the members N so as to insure movement of said members in unison.

Each member N isfo'rmed of two parts pivotally connected together as at 39, said parts being disposed at an angle relative to eachother. A spring 40 is .carried by one of the parts and has one of its ends engaging theotherpart to force the parts `1n a direction to. straighten the angle.v One of the parts is provided with a shoulder 41 and the other part is provided with a heel' 42 which engages the shoulder 41 to limit the straightening movement of said parts.

By supporting the roller 11 upon this frame, the roller may be swung from an operative positionwithin the casing to an ino erative position of accessibility outside of t e casing, as suggested by the dotted lines of Fig. 1. y

When the roller is in its operative position within the casing, it stands in engav e- 12, and the parts of.- the members N are bowed so that the heels 42 are moved away from the shoulders 41, and the force of the spring 40 is in full play to urge the roller 11 against the roller 12. ltshould be pointed out that, owing to the obtuseness of the angle formed by the two .parts of the members N, only a comparatrvely light spring isrequired to produce a very powerful pressure of the roller 11 against the roller 12.

The members N are preferably formed of sheet metal bent into lll-cross section, and the springs 40 are arranged mostly within the space between the legs of the U, each formed with a coil disposed to engage a out across pin 46 whereby to Arial of the toweling enga es.

retain the s rings against displacement. The end portlons, as 43, of the connecting rod 10, which portions bridge the space between the legs of the U, constitute bearing surfaces' for receiving the pressure from the ends of the sprin A. pair of latcsmembers 44 is provided, carried by. the walls 5 and 6 one adjacent each of the members N, Jfor engaging the rod h 10 to releasably retain the roller 11 in its operative position. Suitable stops, as 45, are provided for limiting the inward movement of the lower end of the members When the roller 11 is swun outwardly so that it no longer engages t e roller 12,

the springs 40 cause the parts ofthe 'members to straighten until the heels 42 engage the shoulders 41. i

The friction grip ofthe rollers 11 and 12 with the materlal of the towel may be provided by any suitable means but 1s preferably provided by two sets ofcorrugated rubber rings or bands 47 and 48 carried respectively by the rollers 11 .and 12, one vad- 'acent each 'end of each of said rollers as est seen in Fig. 2. rlhese rin plurality of ridges -against whic the matelfn the case of the roller 11, the toweling makes almost a complete turn about said roller, owing to the position of the cross rod'10, and thle ridges materially improve the frictional gri of the toweling upon the roller.

lsothe ridges of the rings' upon the two rollers coperate with each other in geartooth fashion 'so that the/interposed pass- -ing section of -the towel is caused to assume acorrugated form between the rid es of the two rollers. This improves the e ectiveness of the towel in rotating the rollers 11 'and 12.

The rubber rin u on the. roller 11 fixed rigidly to said ro ler.

rlhe rings upon the roller 12, however, are

are

not rigid but are so mounted and formed .afford a as to be adjustable lso that the speed of rotation of the roller 12, and the consequent speed of rotation of the take-up roller 19 may be suitably altered at will.

In Figs. 5 and 6 is illustrated a simple, practical and highly eiiicient device for this purpose. `The rings 48 are mounted upon a pair of semi-circular plates 49 which plates are received within an annular recess 50 formed in the roller. The adjacent ends of the plates are spliced together as shown at 51, and the marginal portions. of the plates are anged outwardly as at 52`to provide a more efficient seat to receive the rubber ring. At diametrically opposite points within the recess 50., a pair of screws 53 is provided, said screws having their heads, as 54, projected into openings 55 formed inthe plates 49. The rubber ring is provided with a pair of openings 56, line with the openings 55.3 The openings 55 and 56 afford means of reaching the heads of the screws by means of ascrew driver or othei` implement, but the openings 55 are smaller than the heads of the screws so that the screws cannot pass outwardly therethrough. Rotation of thescrews in one direction, therefore will force the plates apart and stretch the rubber ring. Rotation ofthe screws in one direction will increase the circumferential measurement of the rubber rin vwhile rotation in the ycontrary direction will allow the ring to contract and decrease said measurement.

Whenever it is found that the take-up roller 19 is taking up too much or too little of the toweling it is simpl. necessary to adjust the screws 53 in order to correct the fault. It is seldom necessary to do this except when placing a new supply of toweling within the casing as practice has shown that the elements aecting the degree of rotation imparted to the take-up' roller by the passage of. a given length of toweling between the friction rollers are mostly controlled by the texture and thiclmess, etc., of different toweling materials.

The roller 14 is preferably carried upon a pair of arms 57 which are Vfixed to the walls 5 and 6 and which roject outwardly through the opening 13 Aormed within the door 3 when the door is closed. 'The door may be swun to open or closed .position without inter erin with the .position of thisroller.

The rol er 17 is ivotall mounted upon the door to swin t erewitll.

The roller 18 1s pivotally mountedV upon the walls 5 and 6 and carries a pair of disks 58 adjacent its 'opposite ends which serve as gulde means for engagin the opposite edges of the towelin to gui e the toweling on to the take-u ro ler 19.

In threadin t e toweling into this device the supplyro l is first inserted into the position shown in Fig. 1. The spindles, as 59, thereof being moved along the guides 64 and disposed to engage seats 60 carried by the walls 5 and 6 at the rear end of the guides. After the feed roller is correctly placed, the members N' are swung outwardly to the positionshown by the dotted lines in Fig. 1 and the end of the toweling is drawn outwardly and threaded strai ht down'- wardly between the .rod 10 and t e adjacent.

' surface of the roller 11, it of course being understood that the door 3 is now swung open.' The' lend of the toweling is then wound for one or more turns about the roller 19 which at this time is held loosely in the operators hand. -After the end of the towel has been connected with the roller 19, in4

approximately `the position shown in Fig.

1, said roller 1s then moved directly into the casing so that its spindles'slide along the is then forced toits final position `iI 1 en- LSSGHM approximately its operative .position but not so far as to stand in final forced engagement with the roller 12. Suicient towelilgis then drawn from `the supply roller4 to afford the desired' length 15l and 16 for use, andthe roller 11 7 5 gagement4 with the`roller 12. The latches. 44 are set and the door is closed.

Thereafter the operator has simplyto. draw out upon the lead 15 and this action will automatically rotate .the take-uproller and maintain the exposed portions 15 and 16 substantially unchanged lthroughout repeat-` ed use.

It will be seen that'the threading operation is direct and simple and yet that when the parts are moved into the operative position after threading the toweling' is carried into proper coperative engagementv with the movable'elements of the device.

Any suitable means, 'as for instance, the springs 61 may be employed for affording' friction to lrresist undesirable Arotation of 'the feed roller, as will be readily understood.

. 30 for the spindles of the take-up roller 19.-

rIhis is an intentional provision against the possibility of interchanging of the. rollers b unscrupulous users who might seek to p ace the feed roller inthe position of the take-up roller, and vice versav after the toweling has been once fed wholly on to the take-up roller. By means of this provision, he is restrained from making repeateduse of the toweling. ln Figs. 9 and 10 is illustrated a' bearing which is'admirably adapted for use in sup-v porting certain of the rollers in this device. This bearingincludes an off-set, or saucer-. 110 like, member 62 which'is held in position against one of the walls 5 and 6 'by means of a thimble 63. The thimble serves to retain the member 62 and the member 62 serves thus be given an appreciable lengthand ,-may bemade ofsuitable material, such as brass, for affording anl ideal and cheap type of bearing for receivin the roller spmdles.

It has beenfound 1n practice that the 120 momentum gathered in the inwardly moving towel at times causes it to sag down .awa from the roller 18 and away fromthe gui e flanges 58. Means is therefore provided to revent this,.as follows: i.

The re erence character 65 indicates a pivotally mountedfriction member which is arranged adjacent the roller. 17 for engaging against the towel just where the towel enters the lower compartment of the casing.

azi4

'inserer Suitable teeth 66 are provided upon that portion of the member 65, which en ages the towel for rubbing against the roug surface vof the lwoven fabric to improve the frictional engagement, and said teeth are spaced from the adjacent innersurface portion 67 of the door 3, so as to exert a light but constant pressure upon the inner surface of the towel suiicient to prevent any portion of the towel from movin inwardly except as it is positively drawn 1n. by the take-up roller. The ears, as 68, at 'the opposite ends of the friction member are pivotally mounted upon the walls 5 and 6.

In order to preventv rotation of the roller 11 without a rotation of the roller 12, these rollers are fitted with intermeshing gears 69 and 70 respectively. The teeth of these two gears preferably have a loosefit so as not to interfere with the Swingin vmovement of the roller 11 in the frame l? The particular object of gearing the roller 11 and l12 together is to prevent likelihood of the towel being'drawn outwardly from between said rollers at any time without an accompayfV ing rotation of the'take-up roller- 19.

great extent ofthe engagement of the towel with the rubber rings 47 of the roller 11, afforded by the position of the rod- 10, eRectively avoids opportunity for a movement of the towel without imparting rotation. to the roller' 11. In order, however, to more positively vinsure rotation of the roller 11 with the movement ofthe towel, said roller is provided with one or more toothedbands 71 disposed intermediate the rubber rings 47. The teeth of these bands project radially from the roller toa circular plane just inside of the ends of the teeth' on the rubber rings so that during the normal operatlon 'of the device the teeth of the bands 71 'perform little or no function. But when an undue' vstrain is applied to draw the towel outwardly between the rollers 11 and 12 while preventingrotation'of the roller12, (as by holding'the .lead 16 of the towel against return movement) thel material .of

the vtowel is naturally caused to bow in-` wardly between the rubber rings 47 lso as to press against the teeth of the bands. rl`he teeth are so disposed, as indicated by the fragmentary section of one of the bands shown `in ldig. 1, as to bite into the towel and almost positively prevent movement of the towel without imparting corresponding rotation to the roller.

It should here be pointed out that the adjustment of the diameter of the bands 48 'is only slight and'that the consequent al teration in the degree of rotation imparted to the rollers 11v and 12 by the passingof a given length of the towel is very minute.

n fact, fthe alteration is so slight that the co operation ofthe resilient surfaces of the bands with the' resilient mattia of the towel itself readily accommodates it without producing any apparent slippage of the towel relatively vto the rollers such as miht naturally be looked for in viewv of the actA that the rollers are geared together.

be made to rotate without roducigl corresponding rotation 'of theta e-up rol, this invention comprises means for preventing such. an eventuality, as follows:

At least one end of the roller 18 is mount-l edin an elongated bearing 72 arranged in such manner as to permit anupward move-A position with the tooth 76 out of engage-v ment with the gear. VWhen, however, Vthe spindle is `moved upwardly the lever is swung so that the' tooth engages the gear 70 Since -it ispossible that the roller 20 may and positively prevents any rotation ofthe gear until the lever is allowed. to return to its normal position.

lit *will thus be seenthat means is vided for positivel. insuring against withdrawal of anyfortion of the -towel from the feed roller without a .corresponding take-up action by the take-up "roller,

Thus the len h ofltheexposedportion of the towel, a r having been once .determined vas above described, isY mf'antained without change until all of the toweling on the supply roller has been withdrawn. A

ln order to render the guide disks 58, which are carried upon the -rolle'r 18, more e'ective for their purpose, these guide disks vare preferably separately formed and adjustably mounted longitudinally of the roller. IThey may be movedto form proper guide relation with di'erent widths-of toweling. This is very important lparticularly because of the fact that diderent towelirg materials have different shrinkage at di ferent times according'to the method by which itis washed.

rllhe particular manner of rendering they disks 58 adjustable may be modified but the manner illustrated` includes forming each of l said disks from a piece'lof sheet metal. Central apertures are provided for-receiving the roller, and the material of the disk displaced in the formation of the apertures is bent outwardly to provide a series of spring lingers 78 disposed to press toward a common center in such manner as to provide avery eective. 'p upon the roller. is prefera ly made of wood soas to better The roller ooperat'e with the linge-rs 78. The outer any nular edge portions ofthe disksare bent laterall as-at 79, so aslto avoid catching the the device.

Vthat all matter contained in materia of the towel. A lock, as 80, is preferably arranged betweenthe door 3 and the casing for retaining the door closed duringthe normal -use of As many changes could b e made in this construction without departing from the scope of the following claims, it is intended the-above description, ork shown` in the accompanying drawings, shall be interpreted as illustrative onl and not in the limiting sense. aving thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Le ters Patent, is:

1. In a device of the class described,. a movable tape, the movement of said tape, means whereby the movement of said tape will operate said mechanism comprising a pair of rollers between which the tape moves, and means for altering at will the circumferential measurement of that portion of at least one of said rollers which engages the tape.

2. In a device of the class described, a

` movable tape, mechanism to be operated by the movement ofsaid tape, means whereby the movement of said tape wlll operate said mechanism comprising a pair of rollers between which the tape moves, means operaof tape may be altered at will. 4

tively lconnecting one. of said rollers lwithl said mechanism, and means whereby the rotary movement imparted to said men-- tioned roller bythe passage of a given length n a device of the class described, a

. vmovable tape, mechanism to beoperated by the movement of said tape, means whereby the movement of said tape will operate said mechanism comprising apair of rollers between which the tape moves, means operativel'yv connecting one of saidrollers with. said mechanism, and means whereby the circumferential measurement of that 4part of said-.mentioned roller which engages the tape may be increased or diminished at will. 4. ln a device of the class described, a movable tape, mechanism tobe operated by the movement of said tape, means whereby the movement of said tape will operate said mechanism comprising a pair' i .of rollers between which the tape moves,

means operatively connecting'one of said rollers with said mechanism,l and means `whereby the rotary movement imparted to said mentioned 'roller' by the passage of a given length of tape may be altered at will,

comprislng a friction ring carried by said roller for engaging the tape, and means for adjusting. the circumferential measurement g of said ring. r Y

5. In a towel holder, the combination with a strip oftewel material, towel Italie-up mechanism to be operated by l' -means for the takep roll comprising? in part a pair of .friction rollers between w ch the towel moves from the feed roll to the take-up roll, and means whereby the effect upon the drive means of the p e of a given length of the towel/between said friction rollers may be altered at will.

7 A towel holder, comprising a `feed roll for containing a strip of towel material wound thereon, a take-up roll for receiving the used portion of said towel, and drive means 4for the take-up roll, said drive means comprising in part a pair of friction rollers between which the towel moves from the feed roll to the take-up roll, and means whereby one of said rollers is bodily movable into and out of coperative relation with the other of said rollers to facilitate threading` of the towel between said rollers.

8. A towel holder, comprising a feed roll for' containing a strip of towel material wound thereon, a take-.u roll for receiving the used portion of sai means for thel take-up roll comprisingin part a pair of friction rollers between which' the towel moves from the feed roll to the towel, and drive take-up roll, and a swinging frame upon' i which one of said rollers is carried whereby said roller maybe bodily lswung into and out of coperative relation withthe other of said rollers tofacilitate threading of the towel between said rollers.

9. A towel holder, comprising a feed roll -for containing a strip -of towel material wound thereon, atake-up roll for receiving lthe.used portion of said towel, and drive vmeans for the take-up roll comprising. in

part a pair of friction rollers between which the towel moves from the feed roll to the take-up roll, a swinging frame uponfwhich one of said rollers is carried whereby said roller may be bodily swung into and out of vcoperative relation with the other of said rollers to,facilitate threading of the towel between said rollers, and means for `retaili-A ing the frame in one of its positions.

10.` A towel holder, comprising a feed roll;`

for containing a strip of towel material woundthereon-,a take-up roll for receiving the used portion of said towel, and .drive means for the take-up roll comprising in part a pair of friction rollers between which the towel moves from the feed roll to the take-up roll, a swinging frame ,upon which roller may be bodily swun into and out of cooperative relation witht` e other of said rollers to-facilitate threading of the towel betweensaidrollers, and a latch for retaining the frame in a position with theroller in operative position.

11. vA towel holder,l comprising aA feedroll for Acontaining a strip of towel material wound thereon,I a take-up roll for receiving the used portion of'said towel, andv drive means for the take-up roll, said drive means comprising in part a pai-r of friction rollers between which the towel moves from the feed roll to the take-up roll,means for resiliently urging one of said rollers toward the other, and means whereby one of said rollers is bodily movable into and out of cooperative relation with the other roller.'-

12. In a device of the class described, a movable tape, mechanism to be operated by the movement of said tape, and means whereby the movement of said tape will operate said mechanism comprising a pair of rollers between which the tape moves, said rollers having Amating relatively raised and depressed portions for frictionally engaging the tape, means whereby one of said rollers is bodily movable into and out of coperative relation with the other roller to facilitate threading of the tape lbetween said rol- A 1ers, and means resiliently urging one of said rollers toward the other.4

13. A towel holder, comprising a feed roll for' containing a strip of towel materialv wound thereon, a take-up roll for receiving the used portion .of said towel, and drive means for the take-up roll comprising in part a pair of friction rollers between which the towel moves from the feed roll to the take-up roll, and a swinging frame upon ywhich one of said rollers is carried whereby said mentioned roller may be swung free of the other roller to provide a wide open space between said rollers through which the towel may be readily threaded, said frame alsoconstituting means whereby the roller may bel swung vagain into cooperative 'engagement with the other roller sov as to carry the towel into frictional engagement with said other roller, l i' 14.' A towel holder, comprising a feed roll for containing a strip of towel material .wound thereon, a take-up roll for receiving the used portion ofI said towel, and drive means for the take-up roll comprisingy in part a pair of friction rollers'between which `the towel moves from the feed roll to the take-uproll,` and a swinging frame upon which one of said rollers is carried whereby' said mentioned roller may be swung free of the other roller to provlde a wide open space 1 between said rollers through which the towel may be readily threaded, said'frame also constituting means whereby the'roller may be swung again into coperative engagement with the other roller so as to carry the towel' into frictional engagement with said other roller, and .means for resiliently urgingone of said rollers toward the other when said position.

15. A for containing a strip' of towel material wound thereon, a take-up roll for receiving the used portion of said towel, and drive means for the take-up roll comprising in part al pair of friction rollers between which the towel moves from thefeed roll to the take-up roll, and a vswinging frame upon .which one of said rollers is carried whereby said mentioned roller ma e swung free of the other roller to lprovide a wide open space between said rollers through which the towel may be readily threaded, said framealso constitutingmeans whereby the roller may towel holder, comprising a feed roll- 7o` mentioned roller is in said last referred to be swungagain into coperativeengagement with the other roller so as to carry the towel into frictional engagement'with said other n roller, and'means comprised in vsaid frame .adapted to urge the mentionedl roller into yielding engagement with the other roller when the mentioned roller is inthe last re-P Y rollers comprising means for urging said mentioned roller toward the other roller,

and means whereby said support may bev moved to dispose said mentioned roller env tirely roller. s

17. A towel holder, comprisinga supply from which a strip of towel material may be drawn for use, take-up means for taking up the used portion of the towel, drive means out of engagement with the otherl `for driving the take-up means, said drive .I

means comprising in part a drive roller, means whereby the drive roller is bodily movable from an inoperative osition, in

whichthe towel may be readi y threaded therebehind, into'an operative position carryingv the towel into frictional engagement therewith, and an auxiliary roller about which the vtowel is carried to improve the frictional engagement o-f the towel when Asaid drive roller is moved into operative pos1t1on.`

18. lln a towel holder, a pairl of detachable rollers one for containing the unused towel and the other for receiving the used portions vof the towel from the rst roller, independent supports for said rollers, means wherebythe Support 4for .one roller is resiliently I mounted, and means carried-by said supportv adapted to I. over-which the unused portion of the-towel may be drawn outwardly from the casing, and beneath which the used rtion of the towel may pass through sai yopening into the casing, and a partition arranged within the casing adjacent said opening dividing.

the casing into two compartments from one of which compartments the toweling is adapted to feed outwardly from said openv ing and into the other of which compartments the toweling is adapted to feed inwardly through said opening.

20. A towel holder, comprising a casing having a door to close one side-thereof, said casing being adapted to contain a supply of unused toweling material and also to receive the soiled portions of the towel 'material, va roller supported exteriorly of the casing over which the unused portion of the towel may be drawn outwardly from the casing, the door -being formed with an opening adjacent'the roller whereby to permit passage of the roller outwardly with respect to the door when' the door is moved to closed position, said opening serving also to accommodate passage of the unused towel material outwardly from the casing to the roller andv serving also to permit passage of the used `portion of the towel material backwardly into the casing, and a partition arranged within the casing adjacent said opening disposed to divide the casing into two separated compartments each 'communicating with saidfopening. 21. In a towel hol er, a pair f detach- I. able rollers one for containing the unused towel and the other for receiving the used portions of the towel from the first roller,

independent supports for said rollers, said supports having seats formed therein, said 1 rollers having spindles for engaging said seats, and the seats for the spindles of one roller being of a character not to accommodate the spindles of the other roller, for the 22. In a towel holder, a part adapted to contain a quantity of toweling for use, takef up means forA receiving the used portions of the toweling, and a friction member for engaging the toweling adjacent the take-upmeans whereby to maintain a desirable tension upon the toweling entering the take-up means, and gripping teeth formed upon the and a friction member disposed to engage portion 'of the friction member which en! gages the towelin 23. In a towel yIiolden'a part adaptedio,

antity of toweling for use and .from whic contain a the toweling' may be readily drawn,- a take-up lroller for receiving the used portions of the toweling, means whereby the drawing of the toweling from said mentioned-part will rotate the take-up roller,

the toweling just prior to entrance oft e toweling onto -the take-up roll adapted to frictionally prevent passage of any ortion of the toweling toward the take-u ro er exf ceplt under` the positivepull of t e take-up ro er.

'24. In a towel holder, a -part adapted to contain a quantity of toweling, a takeup roll for receiving the used portions of the toweling, a roller over which the toweling passes to said take-up roll, drive means whereby movement of the toweling from the first mentioned part will drive the take-up roll, and means operative to positively prevent operation of the drive means in the presence of a strain tending to revent the feeding of the used portions of t e toweling to the take-uproll. y

25. In a towelholder, apart adapted to contain a quantity of toweling for use, a

take-up ro'll for receiving the used portions.

of the toweling, drive means whereby movement of the toweling from the -first mentioned part will drive the take-up roll, a Iroller over which the toweling passes tothe take-up' roll, said roller being at least in part bodily displaceablewhen an undue tension is applied to prevent movement of the toweling to the take-up roll, and means extending from'said roller to said drive means adapted to. be operated by the displacement of the'roller to positively prevent operation of the drive means.

26. In a device of the classdescribed, a movable tape,`mechanism to be operated by the movement of thejtape, means whereby normal movement of the tape will operate said mechanism comprising a pair of rollers between which the tape moves, at least one of said rollers having a relatively depressed annular portion thereon over which the tape bridges during the normal movement of the tape 'but into which -the tape sinks when -strain is applied thereon, and means arranged in said relatively depressed annular 'portion to be engaged by the tape to posiv tively transmit the movement of the tape to the roller. f

' 27. In a device of the cla-ss described, a

movable tape, a mechanism to be operated by ythe movement of the tape,` means whereby the movement of the tape will operate said mechanism comprising a pair of rollers between which the tape moves, intermeshing gears carriedone by each of said rollers whereby to insure simultaneous rotation thereof, means whereby the normal movement ofthe tape will cause rotation of both rollers,- connections from one of said .rollers to the mechanism to beoperated, and auxiliary means whereby abnormal forced movement' of'the tape will insure `rotation of the other roller.

28. In a towelholder, the combination comprising a movable strip of towel material, take-up mechanism -to 'be operated by the movement. of said towel, means whereby movement of said towel will operate said take-up mechanism comprising a pair of rollers between which the towel moves, and means providing a series of resilient longitudinally extending ridges and grooves upon said rollers between which the towel moves,

for the purpose set forth. 4

29. A towel holder comprising a casing made up of 'an inner member and an outer member, the inner member being of general H-shape providing a pair of sidewalls spaced apart adapted for receiving and supporting various elements of mechanism and a cross wall connecting the side walls togetlier, the outer member being adapted to receive the inner member therein and to supplement'V the action of said cross wallI for holding said side Walls in proper cooperative relation with said mentioned elements of mechanism, and said cross wall being disposed so that when within the outer member it constitutes a horizontal partition dividing the casing into upper and lower compartments.

30. A towel holder comprising a casing made up of an inner member and an outer member, the inner member being of general H-shape providing a pair of side walls A spaced apart adapted for receiving and supporting various elements of mechanism and.

-rollers to contain said ln testimonywhereo I aiix my signature a cross wall connecting the side walls together, the outer member being adapted to receive the inner memberftherein and to supplement the action of said cross wall for holding said side walls Vin proper, copera' tive relation with said v'mentioned.elements f l c member, the inner member comprising a pair of side walls spaced apart and a connecting'wall for holding the side walls together, a plurality of rollers extending between said side walls pivotally mounted in openings formed in said side walls, the-outer member being adapted to receive the -inner member therein and to supplement the action of said connecting wall for holding said side walls in, proper cqperative relation with said mentioned rollers, gears arranged beyond one of said side walls connectin certain of said rollers together, and sai mentioned side wall being adapted when I within said outer member to .'cop'erate with an adjacent wallofl said outer member .for forming a compartment separated from said ears.

in the presence of two witnesses.

. WADE W. BUWMAN.

Witnesses:

L. GINFORD HANDS,

`tllamsmurr D. JENNY. 

